


Ribs

by slytherinbunny



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: @spellcheck I am Canadian we spell word with the u stop saying I spelled humour wrong, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, anyway, gimme more tender klances tbh, i didnt proofread this so please tell me if theres typos im tired, i have no self control thats why, i think this was supposed to be funny but it just turned super tender ok, its tender and i love it, not really klance but theyre getting there ok, pre Klance, this was supposed to be like 100 words why is it 1.4k
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 10:45:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11183490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slytherinbunny/pseuds/slytherinbunny
Summary: “You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”





	Ribs

Keith felt the pull of consciousness drag him from his haze. The world was still fuzzy and gray around the edges, and his vision was still blurry. He vaguely remembered a battle, uphill and tiring, the brief moment of relief, before he tumbled forward.

 

He shifted slightly, turning his head to take in his surroundings. He was still laying on the battlefield, on some rocky planet that reminded him vaguely of the desert but the stone was a darker red than the sandstone back home. It hid the blood staining it at least.

 

Keith's mind was still foggy, and it took him a few extra moments to register the legs cushioning his head. The armor didn’t do much to add softness though, but it was better than dirt he figured.

 

His head swam again before he could really process things, the pain in his side kicking back up and the fuzziness around the edges of his vision darkening and threatening to pull him under for a moment. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned.

 

From behind his pain, Keith heard someone chuckling over him, a soft sound to break the silence, and a hand gently ran over his forehead and pushed his hair back. Fingers ran gentle over his scalp, soothing and soft, and Keith let whoever was holding him gently push the tension back out of him as he focused on his breathing, trying not to breathe too shallowly. One breath in, even if it hurt. Hold for a moment. And out, long and slow.

 

The gentle ministrations against his scalp continued as Keith slowly opened his eyes, vision no longer fuzzy, and took in who was holding him. The first thing he noticed was blue eyes staring down intently at him, soft around the edges but still holding a note of worry in them. Next was a small smile, delicate and private as if it were just for Keith and just for this moment. Then smooth brown skin, and close cropped hair, and white and blue armor, scuffed and dirty from fighting.

 

Lance.

 

Keith let out one more breath, not slowly but more of a huff this time, and carefully shifting, preparing to sit up. Lance’s hands moved from the top of his scalp to the back of his head, cradling his head. Keith worked on slowly sitting up, careful not to aggravate whatever was wrong with his side (he suspected he bruised a few ribs from a heavy kick he took earlier in battle), but he still ended up hurting himself. He hissed in pain and fell back a little, a sharp pain spreading from his ribs at a wrong move. Lance’s hands were immediately back on him, holding his back and shoulder to help support him, rubbing a small soothing circle between his shoulder blades when Keith felt more steady. 

 

“Hey, don’t strain yourself, we need you in one piece for the healing pod.” Lance’s voice held a note of humour, despite the quietness in his voice. 

 

Keith turned his head a little, looking at Lance more directly instead of out of the corner of his eye. He noted a smudge of red dust below Lance’s right eye and ignored the urge to gently wipe it away with his thumb. Keith sagged back against Lance’s hands again, letting him take some of his weight, and Lance complied without hesitation, palms firm and supportive.

 

His voice sounded strangled and quiet when he spoke, and the words were hard to push out, but Keith tried anyway. “W-What happened?” 

 

“You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.” Lance’s words were joking and his smile wide and amused, but his brows knit a little, betraying some emotion Keith didn’t have the energy to analyze. “You took a pretty heavy hit there, Samurai, I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did.”

 

“How long was I out for?” Keith tried to take in his surroundings again, noting not much has changed since he was last conscious. Hunk and Pidge were helping a few civilians that got caught in the fray from a nearby village, Allura had come down from the castle and was with Shiro speaking to who Keith assumed was some sort of leader, and people were generally trying to start cleaning up. He must not have been out for very long.

 

“Only a few minutes, not long,” Lance said, “Seriously, though, Keith, you had me worried there for a while, are you feeling ok?” Lance’s brows did that thing again, pinching in the middle in some mix of worry and something else. Something else Keith still didn’t know and couldn’t figure out while he’s in pain. 

 

Keith pressed his lips into a tight line and moved to touch his ribs, but thought better of it and left his hand there to hover over them until it drops back down. “I think my ribs are bruised and I more than likely have a concussion. But hey, all in a day’s work right? It’s not like I’m the first one to get this hurt.”

 

Lance’s face pulled into another expression that Keith couldn’t decipher, brows drawn, mouth tight, and something shining in his eyes before it’s gone again and Lance’s face is neutral, almost carefully so. Keith was starting to get frustrated with all these weird looks Lance was sending him, but before he could dwell on it, Lance was moving again, repositioning them so he’s beside him and his arm was under Keith’s.

 

“Do you think you can stand? Coran should be getting a healing pod ready for you back at the castle, but we’ve gotta get you there first, dude.”

 

Keith caught on to Lance’s position then, and swung his own arm over Lance’s shoulders, his fingertips coming to rest on the junction between Lance’s shoulder and his bicep. “I should be able to,” he said as he pushed his feet under him, muscles aching but he ignored it. He was already getting help, he doesn’t need to draw more attention to that fact than strictly necessary. 

 

They rose together, carefully as they could not to jostle Keith’s ribs too much. Keith could feel Lance’s muscles work beneath his fingertips and he tried not to think too much about it. Keith’s ribs ached with each step and his thighs burned with exhaustion. The silence sat heavy over the two as they walked towards Blue, and Keith didn’t feeling like insisting he fly himself to the castle. 

 

Lance finally broke the silence, his voice quiet and tender as he spoke.”Seriously though Keith, you had me worried there. I didn’t mean anything when I said you wanted my attention, but like. I was really worried. As much as I joke I  _ do _ actually care.” Lance closed his mouth, then opened it as if he wanted to say more, then closed it again with a tiny click of his teeth and pressed his mouth into a small line. 

 

The silence fell again and Keith rolled the words around in his head. His thoughts were still muddy, but he tried to find  _ something _ to say in response. He had to. 

 

Finally, he started slow and careful, but words nonetheless “For the record, I care about you too.” 

 

It wasn’t many words, but Keith tried to let it say the things he didn’t have the words for yet. He just hoped Lance could pick up on it.

 

He peeked at Lance again out of the corner of his eyes, and saw the return of that small private smile from before. Something just for Keith. He picked up on it, whatever it was.

 

Keith turned his head more towards Lance, his lips tugging at the corners into a small smile of their own, and for a moment it was almost peaceful.

 

Then Lance’s eyes took on that arrogant gleam, and his smile pulled up into a cocky grin that was often seen on his face. “Sooo…… I guess since I cradled you in my arms this time, the cradled has become the cradler?”

 

Keith had to resist the urge to push Lance over, the moment broken, and he only managed to resist because he didn’t trust his own legs right now. 

 

Wait. 

 

“Wait. Do you actually remember last time?” Keith nearly yelled, volume rising towards the end of his sentence; pain split through his side again, with the volume he was speaking at.

 

“Um. Oops” 

 

 _ “Lance!”_

**Author's Note:**

> hey so this is like my first voltron fic and the second thing i wrote and published in years so if anyone has any tips throw them at me because im just a gay trying my best
> 
> find me on tumblr @slytherinbunny


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